SDS/2 Plays Role in Creating SeaWorld's Antarctica

March 4, 2013

SeaWorld Orlando recently unveiled details about Antarctica: Empire of the Penguin, a new attraction that will open May 24.

The main attraction includes a striking entrance — made of materials meant to resemble rock and snow, and forming the shape of a mother penguin and her son — that leads into a realm that includes a family adventure ride and gives visitors the opportunity to walk among the penguins and explore their world.

The entire structure was detailed in SDS/2 by The Steel Detailers, Inc., of Seminole, Florida, and fabricated by Design Data customer Met-Con, Inc., of Cocoa, Florida.

The project's unique challenges included substantial vertical bracing, few 90-degree connections, and HSS framing for the windows inside the building that were modeled and detailed as shop-assembled frames to reduce field welding. The structure also required trusses that had to be modeled and detailed as field-erected trusses due to their size.

To see construction photos of this project, click here; to watch a short video that gives a glimpse inside the attraction, click here.